Pentozali

This is a form of traditional Greek dancing. It was performed in Sydney at the Sydney Greek Festival in front of an enormous crowd as seen in the background. The dance is called 'Pentozali', it originated from Crete which is a small island located in the southern part of Greece. The dance is a form of five basic steps where the word (Pente) comes from meaning five. The steps are very fast. (Zalo) is the rare Greek word meaning jump. The name therefore translated means "Five Jumps". I learnt about this dance when I got taught many years ago. My teacher told the class and broke it down in this same way which is easy to understand. The dance starts at a moderate paste and increases progessively. It is a war dance that is vigorous with high jumping movements which allows room for improvisation. In the image you can see that all the dancers are in the air together. This is the dance group that i perform with. It's evident that everyone is in time as their feet are off the gorund and lifted at the same height.